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St. Cloud, MN – Senior forward Emma Gentry scored twice and the Huskies added four more in a 6-1 win over Union College to begin the 2023-24 season. There were a lot of new faces on the ice for the first time and the Huskies received contributions from two of them with Katie Kaufman and Avery Farrell netting their first goals as Huskies in the third period.
The Garnet Chargers from Schenectady, NY made things difficult on the Huskies in period one holding the Huskies scoreless for the first 14:46 of the period until they netted a power play goal by defender Dayle Ross with assists to Grace Wolfe and Emma Gentry. SCSU added another five minutes later on even strength and again Gentry was involved adding her first goal of the season with assists to Addi Scribner and newcomer and Bemidji State transfer Ella Anick with just 28 seconds left in the period. The Huskies carried a 15-8 shot advantage in the period.
But, Union played a solid second period holding the Huskies to just six shots on goal and netting their first team goal of the 2023-24 season by last season’s leading goal scorer Riley Walsh at 16:02 of the period on the power play after the Huskies CC Bolby was whistled for roughing. The lead was short-lived however as defender Grace Wolfe scored her first of the season with assists to Bolby and Ella Anick, her second assist of the game. SCSU edged Union in shots on goal 6-5 in the period.
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The Huskies came out a determined bunch in period three controlling large chunks of play in the Union defensive zone. Gentry struck again at 9:06 with her second of the game assisted by Dayle Ross and Addi Scribner for a 4-1 lead and the goal seemed to take the wind out of the Garnet Chargers. A penalty to Union’s Emma Hebert at 9:06 was followed quickly by Katie Kaufman’s first goal as a Husky with assists to freshman Sofianna Sundelin and fifth-year Klara Hymlarova. First-year transfer from Franklin Pierce Avery Farrell closed things out with her first goal as a Husky with 25 seconds remaining in the contest in the 6-1 final.
“The first game of the year is always a little unnerving, not knowing what you’re going to get and not knowing how prepared you’ll really be with the first official day of practice being this past Monday,” commented head coach Brian Idalski in his post-game press conference. “Overall, it went well for us. I liked the depth – I thought our four lines played really well and contributed, giving us some good jam up front. I’m happy with that. I think we saw some of the things we’d like to do with the D’s being a little more involved this year, a couple of the D getting on the stat sheet. A first good step for us against a gritty, tough Union team.”
In all, six new faces got on the scoresheet including Katie Kaufman (1-0-1), Avery Farrell (1-0-1), CC Bolby (0-1-1), Taylor Larson (0-1-1), Sofianna Sundelin (0-1-1) and Ella Anick (0-3-3).
“It helps from an energy standpoint to have everybody getting a chance and contributing, getting back to the bench, cheering their teammates on, and getting ready for their next shift. That was good for us. I have a lot of options now with different players and different situations, so sorting through some of that, but definitely a good start to look at some different people. Obviously, some things to clean up a little bit, but that’s the way the beginning of the year goes,” said Idalski.
Multi-point game: Emma Gentry 92-1-3), Ella Anick (0-3-3), Dayle Ross (1-1-2), Grace Wolfe (1-1-2), Addi Scribner (0-2-2)
Game Stats
Shots on Goal; 36-20 (SCSU)
Goaltender Saves: Matsoukas (UC) 30/36 | .833 SV%; Chobak (SCSU) 19/20 | .950 SV%
Penalties: Union: (4/8) SCSU (3/6)
Power Plays: SCSU (2/4) 50%; Union (1/3) 33%
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